The Locket
by Flossey
Summary: Voldemort's fatal flaw was that he never knew love. Fortunately, R.A.B. did. While Sirius Black never thought Regulus would realize his mistakes, Regulus became a true hero when he found Voldemort's secret and the locket.
1. Chapter 1: Fight or Flight

**The Locket**

**Flossey**

**Ch 1: Fight or Flight**

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Disclaimer: I do not own JKR's wonderful characters or world. I own my plot and my characters.

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Laila and Rebecca Darrow sat upon their green thrones, acting as the queens of the Slytherin common room. As twins, they looked similar. Their eyes were both the same celery-color, while their pale skin adopted same eerie green sheen from the dull, green light of the room. They sat in the same way on their matching green armchairs; one leg over the other. Laila's left leg dominated, while Rebecca's right did; one of the most obvious differences between the two if they were compared on a superficial scale. Their strawberry hair shade was almost identical and matching looks of boredom crossed both of their faces.

They were sitting amongst a sea of green and silver. These colors matched the great crest that was displayed proudly on the cold stone walls; a large green shield with an ornate silver lining. On the shield was a glistening silver snake with emerald eyes, proudly displaying its fangs. The lighting was a muted green to match, coming in through the lake above, aided by a few dim green lamps that could be brightened at night. Overstuffed green armchairs and couches, like the ones they were perched on, were scattered throughout the room. There was an obvious gathering point; a place where the couches and chairs formed a U, with a large table in the middle. This was in front of the snake-mouth fireplace. Skulls lined the walls in an eerie way, but after years of getting used to them, they only brought silent company and a sense of peace to the room.

The peaceful atmosphere of the room changed as the girls heard the great stone door open, turning lithely towards it simultaneously. Laila smiled slightly as she saw their new company, while her twin sister rolled her eyes. Their company had remarkably greasy hair, a very large bird-like nose, and a very bad posture. His eyes were beady and a slight snarl on his mouth revealed unnaturally yellow, chipped teeth. Rebecca detected a slight smell coming from him; most likely from her imagination or his unwashed robes.

"Hello, Severus," Laila greeted lowly, allowing some pleasure to escape in her tone.

"Hi Laila," Severus replied softly, being careful to not make direct eye contact with her as he took a seat across from them.

Rebecca looked at the six feet of greasy hair that was Severus Snape, sneering, "No hi for me?"

"No," Snape growled, glaring at the girl.

"Whatever, grease face. My mother says not to associate with half-bloods, anyways," Rebecca put up air quotes with her fingers while smugly leaning towards the boy, quoting her mother exactly, "'You may only get half the dirt on you, but it'll still ruin your best dress.'" She then snatched her latest book from the end table next to her, proceeding to read.

Laila gulped, trying not to interfere. Every word Rebecca just said was entirely true; they were not supposed to associate with muggles or their offspring, no matter what. She was technically the one who was more wrong in this situation, at least according to their family. This however made her slightly sick to her stomach and her mouth downturned apologetically. Severus had practically growled at Rebecca's quote, a string of curses mixed with curse words coming out of his mouth. Rebecca did not even give him a look, completely zoning out of the known world. Severus almost hated her and wanted to blow her head off, but merely removed his Potions book as well as his self-inking quill, beginning to record notes in the margins and letting the curses diffuse in the air. Laila sighed, unable to subtract from or add to the situation; she was merely stuck in the middle of the line of fire, as she often was.

A few minutes later, after almost complete silence, the stone door was again opened and the distinct sounds of boys talking began to overtake the quiet.

Of course, this sound was followed by the distinctive squeal of Rebecca hearing her boyfriend's voice, exclaiming, "Regulus!" She quickly marked her place in her book, jumping up to meet him as he came into the main common room area. Severus and Laila both rolled their eyes in sync at her over exaggeration; she was acting as if he had just come back from a war and hadn't seen him in months, while he was actually coming back from his Quidditch practice and she hadn't seen him in two hours.

Regulus, a boy of slightly above average looks, greeted her with open arms, lifting the small girl off the ground and giving her an excessively long kiss on the lips. Regulus' friends eyed the couple cautiously, continuing around them and taking seats in various places around the dull green room.

"How was your Quidditch practice?" Rebecca enthused, grinning at him ear-to-ear.

"Perfect, but I missed you," Regulus answered lowly, hoping that his friends and teammates wouldn't hear. Of course, that could never happen. Severus made a loud gagging noise in response; somehow, Laila somewhat agreed with the gesture.

"Shut it," Regulus growled to his elder and friend.

"Oh, sure. You two are the perfect couple," Snape said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at the two.

Rebecca looked Snape in his beady eyes, her eyes practically burning, "Jealous much?" Snape returned with a look of equal detest, "Can't you muzzle your dog, Regulus? She's like one of those freaking Chihuahuas. She looks like one, too."

Laila gulped, waiting for her sisters reaction. Severus' and Rebecca's encounters hadn't quite gotten seriously violent before, but there definitely had been some curses thrown between the two. Looking at Regulus, he seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Rebecca's eyes slid slowly up to meet Severus', narrowing into slits, "You are the most insufferable little mudblood lover that I've ever met!" Rebecca was practically spitting venom out with her words, but soon amended them, "Except for the fact that you're the only mudblood lover I've ever met. I don't know why you were ever let in here." Snape look almost dumbfounded for a second, before his temper kicked back into high gear, "I do not love any-" he paused for a moment, slightly hesitating at the pain it took him to say the word; in actuality, he mumbled it, as if he was being forced to do something he wanted to, "mudblood."

Rebecca wrinkled her nose, "You're weak, Snape." With those words, she grabbed her book and headed towards a large wooden door, briskly leaving to her dormitory. Laila watched as Regulus frowned a bit at Severus, who was obviously livid at the girl. The other bystanders seemed to have ignored the situation almost completely, as it was commonplace that Rebecca and Severus fought. She was friendly to most of them, or at least the ones that were pureblood. She merely ignored the others, as long as they stayed out of her way. It was something particular about Snape; possibly his wish to be pureblood, like the others. It could have been how he associated with one particular muggleborn freely, as if it didn't matter. Whatever it was, her detest for him had started when she first met him and had only gotten worse since. Regulus moved towards the door Rebecca had just gone through silently, slow enough to hear Severus express his sincere hatred of Rebecca to Laila.

The tension in the Slytherin house had temporarily ceased now that it was dinner time. The majority of the house had come to the Great Hall, filled to the brim with students from the whole school. The Slytherins were all sitting at the same a long wooden table, one of four like it, which was garnished with silver plates full of scrumptious food. The chatter in the air was lighthearted and mixed with similar tones from other tables; the other houses in the school. Furthest from them was Slytherin's sworn enemy, the damned Gryffindors under their red and gold. The Slytherins preferred their green and silver, and in their opinion, they were what Hogwarts was meant to be: the crème de la crème of the wizarding world.

Therefore, when James Potter, a cocky, messy-haired Gryffindor approached, they were less than pleased. James had some rather unfortunate ties to Regulus' brother who was also a Gryffindor. They were best friends, and Sirius had chosen to align his beliefs with his friends over his family.

"My dear snakeheads!" James drawled, arms spread in a hug as he approached the short side of the table, near Regulus and his Quidditch friends, along with Laila and Rebecca. When all he was met by was glares, he lowered his arms so that he was leaning against the table.

"So boys," he said, glancing around the table. Noting the two girls, he nodded at them, "And harem, of course." Laila grimaced a little; while she was used to the rude comments, she preferred to be ignored in these types of situations. Rebecca rolled her eyes with extreme exaggeration, "No one likes you, Potter." James ignored her, "How's your pathetic team doing?"

"None of your business," Regulus answered promptly, wishing this particular annoyance would vanish.

James gave a fake grin, "So we'll be winning our match, then?" At this point, the Slytherin Quidditch captain, Evan Rosier spoke up, "Shut your little Gryffindor mouth, blood traitor. We won't lose." Rebecca smiled at Evan; while James was a pureblood, he had an uncanny knack for being in love with Lily Evans, an obnoxiously bright muggleborn student who was a favorite of nearly all professors at Hogwarts. Personally, Rebecca hated Lily Evans; almost as much as Snape.

At this remark, James' temper flared, "Who do you think you are, Rosier?" he was in Rosier's face, who had been sitting at the end of the table.

Evan stood up, dwarfing James with his bulk, even though they stood approximately the same height, "Don't make me show you who I am," he responded gruffly, stepping closer to James. By this point, most of the dining hall had quieted, except for a few daft Hufflepuff girls who were giggling like none other. Someone shushed them, and there was then a tense silence that had taken over the students and even the ghosts who watched on, taking bets on the winner.

Rebecca took the few seconds to review the situation; the two boys were facing off. It was obvious that James would lose in a fist fight, and unfortunately, a duel would probably be a draw. Everyone knew that Evan was destined to be a Death Eater, a ruthless follower of the Dark Lord, but James was an obnoxiously talented trickster. However, Rebecca would never admit this and could bet that several of Evan's friends, including Regulus, would step into any fight without hesitation.

Disappointingly for many watching, the tension was broken between the two in a flash as a long line of professors began to file in from what seemed to be a tiring faculty meeting. They paused momentarily, looking over the two and the silent hall. James broke away from Evan at that moment, the Slytherins letting out a small cheer at his retreat. The professors were used to this sort of tension; with a war being fought, the student body was also extremely polar in their views. While their headmaster's wish was to unite the school under one front, they found this task impossible. They had taken up a new way of handling the students: as long as they didn't kill each other, they tended to look the other way.

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That's all for now, folks. Please remember the first chapters of this story will set the stage for the world they're in, so hang on if you want serious Death Eater/Voldypoo action. :) Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2: Friends or Foes

**The Locket**

**Flossey**

**Ch 2: Friends or Foes**

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Disclaimer: I do not own JKR's wonderful characters or world. I own my plot and my characters.

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Regulus sat on the edge of his chair, biting his lip in concentration as he scrawled out his latest Charms essay on silencing charms and their use in practical magic. With nearly 30 inches of parchment already filled, he had surpassed the minimum by 12 inches. He looked over to Rebecca who was supposed to be working on the same essay. Instead, she was staring out of the window. He reached out, grabbing the parchment to inspect it.

He rolled his eyes and read the words that were carefully produced in flowery script, "5 December 1976. Good start." Rebecca's head snapped around to where her parchment used to be. Her eyes slid up to Regulus', "It's snowing." Regulus grimaced at her, "Somehow, I doubt class will be canceled because it's snowing outside the castle. You see - we don't have to go outside."

"Well, my potions essay is done. It's a roll and a half of parchment longer than it was supposed to be." Regulus handed her Charms essay back, "Well, you can speak to Flitwick about accepting your excess potions essay for a grade." Rebecca gave out a shrill exasperated sound, grabbing her supplies in a swooping motion as she stood up, "I'm going to go work on this in my dorm."

Regulus didn't respond, turning his attention back to his parchment as she stormed off. Their relationship was always strained but it was twofold when he fought with her. Plus, it was rather embarrassing - Rebecca had a knack for making a huge scene.

Regulus continued with his essay, finishing his final 6 inches of parchment in a mere half hour. He rolled it up proudly as soon as the last bit of ink was done drying, placing it in his bag. He was done with his work for the entire week, leaving him to do whatever he wanted.

He stretched out in his chair, thinking about the coming week. He had Quidditch practice every day and the game on Saturday. Sunday, he was set to go to Hogsmeade, where he was meeting with a few of his cousins, initiated Death Eaters. They had some "details" to work out, apparently.

Regulus' attention was forced back to reality when several of his friends joined him. He sat up a bit, looking at the new faces - Severus Snape, Evan Rosier, Severn Wilkes, and William Avery. He gave them a cool smile and nod, surveying them subtly. He noticed that Avery had cooled his guard on his wrist - a large black tattoo of a skull with a serpent's tongue was half showing from his robes. William had the Dark Mark on his arm, the mark of a Death Eater. No one else did, although Regulus would receive his soon. The Dark Lord enjoyed having a spy inside Hogwarts to monitor Dumbledore's messages to the students about the war and whatever else they could find out. William would disappear every so often for a few days and would come back with new scars, tightlipped about the happenings. Even though the Dark Lord had already conversed with the other boys about their upcoming service, they knew just about as much as the public until the mark was seared onto them.

"Regulus, did you get the note from your cousin?" William asked lowly although the other occupants of the common room knew not to listen.

Regulus nodded, "Yes, it's set. Are you coming?" William nodded, "I was instructed to." There was a lull in the conversation before Severn spoke up, "Did you hear our dates have been set?"

"Really?" Evan and Severn nodded in unison, "It'll be June 7, right after we get out of this place." Regulus nodded approvingly, turning his attention to Severus, "Did you get a date?" Severus shook his head silently, "I'm trying for before I get out." Regulus noted that only Voldemort's most trusted could become Death Eaters before they were out of Hogwarts but declined commenting. All he really cared about was that he would become the youngest initiated Death Eater and had insured himself a place of power within them.

Sirius Black, Regulus' very handsome brother, saluted the pretty blonde girl that was giggling off, his current girlfriend or something. She was particularly obnoxious, but she had certain skills that he valued highly. Her name was Tara or Mary or something and he believed she was a fifth year. Walking away from the Room of Requirement, he cast her aside in his mind, retrieving a piece of parchment from his back pocket. He mumbled, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," reviewing it. It seemed no one of any importance was near him. He saw the girl's little dot with her name attached - Sydney Clairmont. She was moving fast, obviously excited to tell her friends about something.

It seemed his friends, James, Remus, and Peter were in the Gryffindor common room, most likely scrambling to get their Defense Against the Dark Arts essay done which he had yet to begin. His pace quickened as he remembered those 20 inches of parchment he had yet to write. He stuffed the parchment in his pocket, taking a dark short cut back to his tower.

"Sirius?" He stopped dead in his tracks at his name and the voice that accompanied it. He turned around to see his brother holding a bright lantern, squinting into the darkness. Sirius frowned, "What? Why are you up here?" he didn't remember seeing him on the map; yet again, he wasn't exactly looking for him.

"Prefect duties... What are you doing out so late? It's past curfew." Sirius shrugged, "Sirius duties. Are you going to take points or can I just go?" Regulus sighed, "Did you use a permanent sticking charm all over your room?" Sirius grinned, "Of course! Did you want to take my room?"

Regulus shrugged, "Rebecca thought I should and our parents were trying to remove all that stuff... They're quite irate." Sirius was glad his plan had worked, "Well, now you can always remember me when you miss me." Sirius watched his brother frown. "They're boarding it up, I believe."

"So sad. You could've used it to house your children. Are you married yet?" Regulus shook his head, grinning a bit, "You would've gotten at least a photograph."

Sirius sighed, "I would've thought you would have already been working on your own little army to serve Voldemort." Regulus' stance suddenly changed; he became visibly guarded and his voice was hushed and strained, "You have no right to say that name. Are you crazy?"

"No Regulus, I just think you're ridiculous to worship a name and the person behind that name who has killed innocents. Defenseless innocents, Regulus," Sirius saw Regulus lose emotion completely but kept his voice stern, "And you'll be doing it too."

Regulus turned around, "Go back to your tower, Sirius." Sirius watched as his brother moved off and around the corner, taking the light with him. He thought about following him for a moment to harass him as he used to about the decision, but decided against it. At home, there was only his mother to answer to, who he never listened to anyway, but at school, he could lose points for his house.

Instead, Sirius went back to his tower as instructed, running into no other problems along the way. When he stepped into the warm red and gold covered common room, he felt home. He saw his three best friends crowded around a table. James and Remus were playing chess while Peter watched - so much for studying.

He sauntered over to them, a lazy grin on his face, "My fellow marauders!" They looked up to him, giving him broad smiles before turning back to their game. Apparently, it was especially intense.

"You're back late," James commented, some innuendo in his voice, "So how was blondie?" Sirius had pulled up a chair and was now lounging in it, "She's good. Empty-headed... Getting a bit boring, y'know."

Remus gave Sirius a sideways glance, "Have you even been dating for two weeks?" Sirius thought for a moment, "It doesn't matter - I mean, her name is Jane. How interesting can she be?"

"Sydney," Remus and James said simultaneously. Sirius raised his eyebrow, "Who?" Remus continued, "Her name is Sydney - blondie is Sydney Clairmont." Sirius frowned, remembering realizing that less than a half hour ago, "Didn't I have a Sydney before?" James nodded, "Same one - I believe she was thrilled when you talked to her again."

Sirius wrinkled his nose, "I'm bad with names, you guys know that. Guess who I saw while I was making my way back?"

"The Easter Bunny," James guessed immediately, followed by Remus' guess of Santa Claus. Peter rounded out the pack with a guess of Merlin. Sirius rolled his eyes, "My brother. He was quite testy."

James frowned, "Did you cut off his seeking arm?" Sirius shook his head, "No, but there's a chance he'll be procreating soon."

"Did he tell you that, really?" Remus questioned, making a move against James that gave him certain domination. "Not exactly. He did say that my parents were not happy about that permanent sticking charm and they're boarding up my room. Success or what?"

"Success!" Remus yelled in what Sirius thought was agreement, but James' accompanying grumbling was not promising, "Rematch! I call rematch!"


	3. Chapter 3: Chills and Thrills

**The Locket**

**Flossey**

**Chapter 3: Chills and Thrills**

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Disclaimer: I still don't own JKR's world.. But I do own my characters and my plot. Go me!

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The next day was extremely cold, nearing winter break. As classes concluded, Laila was wandering back to her dorm, trudging through the snow that blanketed the campus and watching as her breath made puffs of smoke. She saw single boy making the same journey in front of her; from the black hair and shockingly pale skin, it looked like it was Regulus. He was wearing no house colors, as usual on such a cold day. While Regulus had fierce pride for Slytherin, he was always taught by his mother that men simply did not wear outerwear that overtly advertised their affiliations to avoid random targeting by those who were jealous or looking for handouts. Being in the Black family, in their opinion, was like being royalty, so they tended to take rather unnecessary precautions and taught their children to do the same.

"Hey Regulus!" Laila exclaimed, running to catch up with her sister's boyfriend.

The person didn't turn around; Laila supposed that he was mad that she had accidentally interrupted his usual romp with her sister's tongue that morning.

"HEY!" she yelled, hitting him on the back of the head playfully.

"I'm not my brother!" an angry voice yelled, turning to face him. Whoops. Before Laila stood a cornucopia of perfection, rather more handsome than Regulus. They had the same basic structure; a haughty look, jet black hair, and extremely pale skin. However, Sirius was more mature looking; more muscular and taller than his brother by far. Unfortunately, he was "the traitor"; Regulus' brother. She or her sister was supposed to marry him; it was that weird arranged thing. However, he didn't want anything to do with the pureblood society.

"Sorry, er, Sirius. Sorry," Laila stammered, turning away from him.

"Oh, I thought you were your sister. You're okay," Sirius reasoned, surveying her awkwardly.

"I - er - I thought you were Regulus. You - well - you're not wearing your um - scarf. Your brother - he - well, you know," Sirius cut her off, grinning apologetically, "James stole it."

"Well, nice seeing you I suppose - um - bye then," Laila replied quickly, beginning to leave.

"Hey, look. I'll walk you in," Sirius said quietly, giving Laila quite a shock. While she was his favourite Slytherin, that wasn't saying much, especially considering their history.

"Okay," Laila stuttered, letting him walk beside her.

"So how's your family?" Sirius questioned, looking down at the small red head.

"I guess.. They're okay, yeah, I suppose."

"How's my brother? I saw him last night - what an unpleasant child."

"He's doing," she paused, "well, okay, I guess. Severus is advising him to break up with my sister with a new enthusiasm," Laila grinned up at him, thinking about what was probably going through Sirius' head at the time.

"I take it that your sister just as unpleasant as always?"

"To people she doesn't like, yes. You should really give her another chance. On the inside, she's really just a big stuffed animal."

"Oh yes. A snake," Sirius rolled his eyes, thinking of Laila's impossible sister.

"You'll see. She really cares about your brother a lot," Laila replied, hoping for some change in his heart. She knew that her sister was obnoxiously strong willed and stubborn, but she did love her.

"She better. I had to deal with them all summer… I don't even want to know what they were doing. Of course, Mother thought they were so adorable. In that house, everything Regulus does is right," Sirius scoffed, thinking of his mother who was still trying to convert him, despite his clear attempts to escape society.

"You mean, the whole two weeks of the summer that you were home?" Laila gasped sarcastically, referring to how Sirius had stormed out of the house a mere two weeks after coming home for the summer holiday.

"Exactly. I cannot believe she hasn't gotten the message yet…" Sirius pondered, screwing up his face with an odd, half frustrated concentration.

"Well, you are coming home for Christmas, right?" Laila asked hopefully, staring at him with wide eyes.

Sirius scoffed at her remark, looking at her confused face and realizing she was serious, "No."

Laila frowned, "Sirius, I miss you. And I thought this meant-" Sirius had cut her off, "Laila, I've been thinking about it - well, you - for a while now. And I'm sorry about what happened, and I miss you too, but there is no way that I am stepping foot into that mania again."

"Oy, Sirius!" a voice yelled from the distance, giving both Sirius and Laila quite a start. They both turned towards the voice, and saw it was James Potter running towards them.

"I have to go," Sirius mumbled.

"We need to talk," Laila pleaded. She tried to make eye contact with him, but he was currently quite determined to stare at her forehead.

"You can make it in okay, right?" Sirius forced himself to ask, looking over to his friend who had stopped to watch the situation, looking quite confused.

"Sirius, we never talked - we need to talk," Laila sounded as if she was going to cry if he did not give in.

James was approaching at this point, and Sirius did not know what to say to her. Looking in her eyes, he remembered hurting her not even a year ago; he had most likely broken her heart. He leaned into her quickly, giving her a kiss that he should've months ago.

Laila pulled away, looking over to James who was definitely in hearing distance now, "That did not count as talking," she hissed under her breath, reminding herself of her sister.

James watched the girl stomp off in the snow before sizing up his best friend who was watching her leave with a blank look on his face.

"Oy Padfoot! Breaking hearts as usual?" Sirius turned towards James, giving him a strained smile, shaking his head, "Girls, Prongsy. A frontier you've never quite been able to handle." James gave him a light punch on the shoulder along with a hearty laugh, "So she wants you back?"

Sirius shrugged a bit as he started to walk in the castle, watching her slip away from him, "She's hot, isn't she?"

James sighed, knowing exactly where this was heading, "Jumping back on that crazy train?"

"She's not the crazy one, it's her sister. Her sister is legitimately mad." James nodded, "So unfortunate." Sirius gave him a sideways glance, "Unfortunate?"

James gave a half-grin, "Well, they're both hot. It's not very fair only you get in on the action." Sirius laughed at what his friend was insinuating, "You could probably take my brother."

James laughed, "I'd be scared she bit too hard. Plus, I am otherwise occupied. What about Sydney?"

"You're still on about Lily? Sara and I aren't serious."

James laughed a bit, nodding towards the castle, "Tell her that." He was indicating a small blonde girl who was waving cheerily. Sirius rolled his eyes and jogged towards her, "Girls, Prongsy, girls!"

In the Slytherin girl's dormitory, Rebecca was lying under a certain boy, kissing him like there wasn't going to be a tomorrow. Laila didn't care; she needed to talk to her sister.

"Rebecca!" Laila yelled as she reached the dorm, panting.

"Go away," Rebecca mumbled, ignoring her sister completely.

"Rebecca!" Laila yelled again, storming over to the two.

"Get away from me!" Rebecca replied louder, glaring at her sister with one eye, yet continuing to kiss her boyfriend.

"Rebecca Rose!" Laila yelled, standing over the two.

Rebecca nearly screeched in frustration, sitting up suddenly and shoving her boyfriend to the floor, "Are you dying? Because you will be if I-"

"I got kissed." Laila started flatly, cutting her sister off and taking over the end of the bed.

"I'm happy for you, honestly. What a turning point in your life. If you can't tell, I was in the process. Can you please leave me alone now?" Rebecca growled, glaring at her sister.

"No, you don't understand," Laila pleaded, trying to prevent Rebecca from crawling onto the floor with her boyfriend. She couldn't, though, and soon her sister was again kissing that stupid boy.

"Sirius kissed me," Laila mumbled, beginning to rise.

Rebecca gasped instantaneously, pushing away from her boyfriend, "You - him - what?"

"I don't know," Laila sighed, looking down at her sister's weary eyes. Rebecca's mind brought up visions of past relationships; one in particular that had ended in serious heartbreak when Sirius stormed out of his house, ranting and raving about nonsense, insulting his blood with his craziness. He cursed his family, his lifestyle, and his lineage, swearing to permanently give them all up. His mother, in a fit of outrage, permanently removed him from them all as well; she blasted his name off the family tree and refused to further acknowledge his existence. This day was the same day that Regulus, eternally favored in the Black family, announced his decision to join in the war on the side of the Dark Lord.

Regulus spoke in place of Rebecca; he knew what she would soon go on and on about anyways, "You can't date him again."

"Exactly!" Rebecca agreed; Regulus had practically stolen the words out of her mouth. Luckily so, she still had a flood of them to come, "First of all, he's a dirty Gryffindor! A bloodtraitor, even! Our parents would never approve. And in the future - oh dear, your children! They would be so disadvantaged - with such a reckless father, in need of such rehabilitation.. They'd be destined for a life of ostracism!"

Laila was silent; it was so like her sister to immediately look to how marriage would be. It made sense, Laila supposed; Rebecca had been primed for marriage since she was very young. Laila had been expected to marry as well, but with such a "giving" personality, her parents didn't see the need to groom and prep her as intensely. Rebecca had been molded like wax into their parent's perfect child, arranged to marry the eldest Black. Unfortunately, in two sets of parent's eyes, this Black was not molded the same way and Rebecca could never sink her fangs in deep enough to keep him. And, while their parents had never arranged it, Rebecca and Regulus had fallen together somehow, pleasing both sets.

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Okay, it's time for me to start begging for reviews! So please.. Review! Let me know if you like it and it'll get me some fuel to keep on going.. I know there's someone reading this out there! Er.. I hope.

PS, I've watched the Deathly Hallows trailer at least twice every day since its come out. Is anyone else as excited as I am?


	4. Chapter 4: Commitment

Ch 4: Commitment

No more than a few days after Laila's incident, Regulus and Rebecca had just returned to Regulus' dorm after a particularly interesting charms class. Whilst Regulus had impressed as always, successfully completing his silencing charm in a few minutes, Rebecca had only managed to force her frog to make strange, amplified squeaks. When Regulus had finally gotten tired of it and silenced the frog, she'd chastised him, claiming that she had been on the edge of a breakthrough with the frog.

Rebecca was now staring at him, propped against his headboard. He was at the end of the bed, scanning The Daily Prophet, holding some scissors in his hand. Rebecca sat up and moved over to him, mumbling, "I'm sorry for that." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, looking at the newspaper in front of him and inspecting it carefully.

Her face turned into a frown as she read the headline and first few paragraphs of the front page, which explained that several Death Eaters had recently been aided in their escape from Azkaban by the one and only Dark Lord. "So that's his latest accomplishment?" Rebecca said bitterly, half sarcastic.

"Don't be like that, Rebecca," Regulus said gruffly, looking at her briefly. He began to cut out an article. Once he had it cut, he was careful not to wrinkle it as he began rummaging under his bed for a collage that Rebecca hated.

Rebecca sat back on her feet, having been pushed off when he'd leaned forward. "Don't be like what, Regulus?" she sneered.

"You know how you get. You know I'll be in service for our Lord soon," Regulus chastised.

"I know, but.. Aren't you just a bit young?" Rebecca replied carefully.

"Rebecca, we're not talking about this." Regulus would have preferred if the conversation had ended there, but Rebecca was already worked up.

"You're just so committed, and we aren't even legally allowed to do magic yet! What if something happens to you?" she was trying to reason despite her knowledge that she was fighting a losing battle. Meeting Regulus' absolute silence, she continued before being cut off, "We still have so much life-"

"I'm committed," Regulus enforced harshly.

"But—" Rebecca started.

"We're not discussing this! I've made my decision!" Regulus growled impatiently, automatically turning to glare at the girl. His face immediately softened as his glare met her tear-rimmed eyes; he always seemed to loose himself when he was thinking about the Dark Lord. Voldemort. The name just reeked power, and made him feel so alive. Like he could do anything. The only thing he would regret doing in these sudden possessions would be when he started to yell at his love; she didn't mean any harm. He knew she supported Voldemort, to some extent. As she said it, she believed in his 'philosophy, not physicality'.

"Don't cry," Regulus comforted, reaching out to the crestfallen girl. Those sudden kind words made her body become racked with sobs and she was taken into Regulus' arms.

"I just don't want you to get hurt," Rebecca stammered through the sobs, causing a pang in Regulus' heart.

"I'll be fine," Regulus condoled, hugging her close.

Rebecca began to breathe more normal, regaining her composure slightly. Clearly, through the tears, she blurted, "We're only fifteen! We're in our fifth year of school! I mean, sure, you're turning sixteen on the thirty first, and I'm going to be sixteen on the first of the year, but then on the second you're getting inducted! Everyone else who does it is at least out of school! I mean, look at Rosier - he's two years older than us and he's getting inducted after you!" she stopped to catch her breath, and was cut off by a pair of lips on her own.

"Don't worry," Regulus assured once again, looking at her honestly with his gray eyes that she adored so much. The ones she'd rather die than lose. Slowly, a grin came over his face, breaking the seriousness, "I'm much more of a man than Rosier." Suddenly, he grabbed her, beginning to tickle her.

"Regulus!" Rebecca screeched half-angrily, thrashing about trying to escape his clutches.

It was late now; Rebecca felt that she always did her best thinking at night. She sat in her favorite spot in the entire castle; a secluded corner that had one of the best views of the grounds possible. The large window showed a beautiful view of the snow-covered grounds near the lake. Rebecca was curled up in the overly-large window sill, hiding from anyone who might walk by and wonder why she was doing "prefect rounds" so late at night.

It was approximately midnight, and the moon was high in the star-stricken sky. Rebecca reflected on how, in a sense, she was one of those stars; just another being, wanting to find their way in the big, planetary system that was life. If she was a star, then Rebecca decided that she wanted to be part of a constellation; a constellation made of two brightly shining stars. Her and Regulus.

Rebecca didn't want Voldemort to take him over; she had heard the stories of the commitment that he required. He was just so young and so brilliant - usually the ones who went into service so early had nowhere else to go. She didn't want that for Regulus; she didn't want that for her. 'Maybe I'm selfish,' she thought to herself, quickly debunking that. She would go to the end of the world for Regulus; she knew that he could do better than being a minion.

Rebecca shocked herself by thinking of that word; minion. But it was true; while the Death Eaters were the most feared members in her society, that's it. They were feared, not respected. Regulus deserved respect. He could do so much for the Dark Lord as something other than a Death Eater; with his brain, he could make connections early in his career, and then be in service for the Dark Lord - a better position for his future; their future.

"Thinking?" a voice interrupted, bringing Rebecca out of a fog that had taken over her mind.

Rebecca turned immediately, straightening herself out and squinting into the darkness. At first, she was unable to recognize the figure, but as her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit stone corridor, the facial features became clear. It was Sirius, holding his wand and a folded piece of parchment.

"What're you doing here?" she sneered,

"I'm out for a walk, of course. What does it look like?" he answered jokingly, moving into the light to reveal that he was smiling at her. It was a smile that she had barely seen since they were younger; before he went to Hogwarts. "So, what're you doing here?" he said awkwardly, moving towards the other side of the window to sit down.

"Polishing my shoes, Sirius."

"And are the shiny?"

Rebecca glared at him, "What is this, twenty questions?"

"No, I just highly doubt that you've been here for the past 20 minutes to shine your shoes."

Rebecca rolled her eyes, "So you're a stalker now? I'll add that to your track record. Heart breaker and stalker."

"Now, Beckie, I wouldn't say I'm either of those, exactly." Rebecca detested him calling her Beckie; he had only been allowed to call her that because he had once been her best friend, she had once thought he was cute, and they were, indeed, once betrothed.

"I am going to close my eyes, count to ten, and you will be gone." Rebecca counted slowly and out loud. When she was done, she peaked out through a crack in her eye, hoping that he actually had left. To her dismay, he had not and was giving her a surprised, blank stare, "I honestly cannot believe you still have that obnoxious habit."

Rebecca narrowed her eyes, "I absolutely detest you, Sirius. Why are you here?"

"I still like her." Sirius' voice was flat and emotionless, as if his statement had no importance in the world.

"Excuse me?"

"I doubt that this is a surprise. You know we kissed. Laila tells you everything."

Rebecca gave him a nasty face, "I had repressed the memory, thanks for making me want to vomit."

"Come on Beckie. Be a nice girl."

"Where did you ever get the idea that I was a particularly nice girl?"

Sirius sighed, "I just hoped the suggestion might spark something in you."

"You're irritating me." Sirius gave up on reason, as Rebecca had no real sense of it anyways. He looked at her straight in the eye, "I will not get on my knees, but please Rebecca. I don't want to mess this up. I want her back."

Rebecca felt like she was going to explode, and her eyes were of a woman twice scorned, "You are not allowed to do this, Sirius. You don't get to make the decisions."

Sirius thought for a moment, "What if Laila wants it too?" Rebecca laughed bitterly and loudly, "She will never want you back," and while Rebecca could not guarantee that was true, she added to her statement, "And I will make sure of it."

As Rebecca turned away from him, Sirius began to argue, "Beckie, you were my best friend, please, you know me -" That brought out a few frustrated tears in Rebecca's eyes, which she quickly blinked away, "Sirius!" her screech was loud, high pitched, and reverberated through the hall. Rebecca turned, outwardly calming herself, "Sirius. It's past curfew."

Sirius gave her a strange look, standing up, "So?" Rebecca breathed in slowly, wiping away the unnecessary tears that still stuck on her face, straightening up, and leveling her voice, "I will report you if you do not leave."

"Rebecca, that's not-"

She had cut him off, "You're not being fair either, Sirius. Leave us both alone."

"Beckie, I don't want to leave you both alone. We grew up together. I love you both!"

Rebecca ground her teeth, "Our association was merely a series of unfortunate events mixed with youth carelessness. Neither of us likes you, Sirius, and if you don't leave now, you'll have detention and points from your house!"

"You can't do that!"

Rebecca smiled evilly, obviously having regained complete composure, "I can do what I want," she pointed to a badge pinned proudly on her chest, "I'm a prefect," she searched his chest mockingly, "and you're not."

"You're a manipulative little -"

"Goodbye, Sirius!" Rebecca turned on heel, despite Sirius' complaints. The last thing she heard from him, "If you won't help, I'll just have to make it happen myself!"

Rebecca laughed to herself; as if she would ever let that happen.


	5. Chapter 5: The Perfect Prefect

**The Locket**

**Flossey**

**Ch 5: The Perfect Prefect**

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Disclaimer: Don't own it. Wish I did. Still own my characters.. Or at least that's what they let me think. :P

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It was Saturday now - game day. The biggest game of the year for the entire school, with two sworn rivals battling for bragging rights for the year. While the Gryffindors talked big game, the Slytherins were sure that they would win. Laila had not talked to Sirius since their incident, which was unfortunate in both of their opinions. However, as tomorrow was a trip to Hogsmeade, Laila hoped that they could finally have that conversation that she knew she needed to have, despite her sister's protests.

"You're awfully quiet," Rebecca commented, surveying her sister across the breakfast table. Laila had been staring at her eggs for the past three minutes, and it was annoying Rebecca, who had been trying to discuss their need for new Christmas dresses.

Laila frowned, "We bought most likely more than 10 dresses for Christmas last year; well, you did, at least. Can't we pick from the other 8 or so dresses?" Rebecca looked as if she had been shot, gasping, "No! Fashion changes over the years! Boys notice! And, as you know, you need to be impressive. Your time is running out - you may need to actually get a job to support yourself after graduation!"

"How do you know that boys notice? You're obviously not one," Laila questioned, slightly annoyed at Rebecca's veiled implications that she wasn't able to impress men on her own. Rebecca rolled her eyes, turning to her left. She expected to meet Regulus' face, but instead, she found that he was engrossed in a conversation about his upcoming Quidditch game with his fellow teammates and fans, "Regulus!" Rebecca was rather annoyed, as she had been talking to him earlier - apparently, instead of nerves, the fact that he was ignoring her was the reason he was so quiet.

Regulus spun around, giving his obviously irate girlfriend a friendly smile, "Mhmm?"

"What did I wear to my Christmas party last year?"

Regulus thought for a moment, "Er - a dress - in green," he stumbled, Rebecca giving him a look as if he was missing something. He strained, "And, well - a bow, I believe - silver." He looked for Rebecca's approval, and got it from her face which had lit up. She turned away from him, giving her sister a pointed look, "See? They notice."

Laila rolled her eyes - every year, Rebecca wore a green dress to their annual Christmas party. And often, she wore a some sort of bow to make it festive - usually silver. In Laila's opinion, Regulus had barely noticed what she was wearing, as she always wore nearly the same thing, and he had attended the party every year of his life.

"So you want to go shopping for 10 dresses tomorrow, one of which will no doubt be green?" Laila sighed, mentally saying goodbye to her and Sirius' much needed talk. Rebecca thought for a moment, then frowned, "Is the Hogsmeade trip really tomorrow? Regulus made me promise that I would study with him all day. He reckons that I may kill myself in Charms one day, but I don't really understand why." Laila raised her eyebrow at her sister, who sharply asked, "What is that look for?"

She ignored her sister's question, shoving a forkful of eggs in her mouth to avoid further questioning. Rebecca knew exactly what the look was for; it was likely that she would kill herself in Charms, as she was completely dreadful. Laila had no idea why; Rebecca was passable at most subjects, and even near the best in their class in a select few, she had no skill for Charms whatsoever. And, even worse, Rebecca had no desire to do better, as she saw no practical application for the knowledge (despite the fact that it was all practical magic for someone who wished to be a housewife and mother). The Professor didn't particularly instill a work ethic in her; in fact, Rebecca was quite sure that the small, squeaky Professor Flitwick might run from her if they ever got into a fight. Laila was sure the only reason that Rebecca had ever passed Charms were the combined efforts of Regulus and herself. It seemed that near every end-of-term, Rebecca came running to them, sobbing about her parents' threat that her shopping privileges were, in fact, directly correlated to her worst grades.

When Laila looked back to her sister after she was done thoroughly digesting her mouthful of eggs, her sister was staring at something in on the other side of the hall. When Laila turned to look, she could see exactly what it was: a few young Hufflepuff girls getting sold something that would most likely give them a trip to the hospital wing by two older Ravenclaw boys. While Rebecca would usually turn a blind eye, she could see that Lily Evans had spotted her lack of action at the obvious rule-breaking. She stood silently, moving towards the little group. To her disgust, Evans stood and moved towards them as well. The two were soon walking uncomfortably close to each other - Rebecca liked to keep at least 3 metres between herself and mudbloods.

The group of students had not noticed their approach, and soon Rebecca had joined their little group, "So what are you all up to?" The look on the girl's faces showed they were obviously first years. Rebecca recognized the boys; of course, not names, but they had always tried to surpass her in Potions.

"Business," one of the boys answered coolly, "You know about that, right, Becca?"

Rebecca rolled her eyes, "That's not my name." She snatched a vial out of one of the girl's hands and could practically hear Lily Evans bristling; technically, that was inappropriate seizure. She was supposed to ask before snatching.

Rebecca opened the vial, sniffing it a few times. "Stick out your hand," she commanded of one of the girls; she obliged instantly. Carelessly, Rebecca poured it on her outstretched palm, "Now now girls, love potions are dangerous," she looked towards the boys, "and this is brewed badly." She grinned at them sweetly before turning to take the remaining vials out of the girls hands.

One of them spoke up, stammering, "Are we in trouble?" Rebecca laughed, "Of course! Ten points for stupidity," she turned to the Ravenclaws, "and twenty points for marketing dangerous potions to first years."

The boys looked angry, "They weren't dangerous!" Rebecca stopped their further protest, "Well, they were badly brewed, which means you most likely got contaminants in them. Which means that any of these vials could obviously kill someone!"

However, the boys weren't taking it, "It barely has any effect! Possibly a slight inkling for flirtation."

Rebecca shrugged, "So 10 more points for false advertising. Would you like to go for 40?" At that point, they both muttered away while the Hufflepuffs apologized profusely, promising to never to it again. With a last glare from Rebecca, they finally scampered away. However, when Rebecca turned around, she realized she forgot about her last annoyance, the fellow redheaded prefect that was tapping her foot and obviously upset.

"Rebecca Darrow! You cannot simply take points without citing broken rules!" Lily Evans was obviously irate and expecting an answer, but Rebecca merely walked by her. However, Lily was not done, even if Rebecca was not listening, "Could you be any more daft? You're ruining the prefect name! I should tell the Head Boy and Head Girl! Taking points for stupidity? What's next, are we taking points for dressing badly?"

Rebecca turned on heel, "If we were, Gryffindor would be in the hole, mudblood. And, if you could read, you would know that taking points merely need to be justified, not explained. I took points because love potions are inherently illegal at Hogwarts. When I arrived, it was in both of their possessions, so technically, I should've taken more points from them. Now, could you just titter off back to your stupid blood traitor boyfriend?"

Lily scoffed, "He's not my boyfriend." Rebecca rolled her eyes, sauntering off in the other direction, "Poor little mudblood, can't even get a blood traitor to like you."

Lily was not phased by Rebecca's nastiness; she honestly expected a bit more name calling, "I am reporting you!"

Rebecca continued without a reaction. Lily followed her, ranting about how Rebecca's badge would be taken away and such. Rebecca merely replied with, "Blah blah blah! It seems I can't understand your dialect - what is that? Undeserving mudblood?" Lily groaned sharply and quit her pursuit of the girl. To her dismay, she had instilled no fear in the girl, and as the Head Girl was currently a Slytherin, she doubted reporting her would do anything.

Rebecca slammed herself back down next to Regulus, immediately getting his attention as well her sister's, "I hope that filthy mudblood never makes Head Girl! She's such an insufferable twit!"

Regulus was slightly surprised that Rebecca had actually partaken in her Prefect duties, as she usually let all mayhem commence as planned, "What happened?" That launched Rebecca into a story about how she had felt obligated to do something because "that mudblood" was watching her, and how she did particularly hate "those arrogant two" and "twittery Hufflepuff girls" in general, so she took the challenge. She explained that even thought she had, in her opinion, done exactly as she was supposed to, Lily had followed her and chastised her for no reason. When Rebecca finished, neither Laila nor Regulus had anything to respond with.

Regulus began speaking anyways, because he knew Rebecca would begin ranting again if he didn't, "Well, it sounds as if you handled the situation well, darling." Rebecca smiled a bit, even more when Laila added, "Yes, I believe she was completely unreasonable. She's probably just jealous that no one respects her."

"Thank Merlin! I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds her behavior deplorable." Despite that this was not the truth, Laila let it go, changing the subject, "How are you feeling about your match?"

Before Regulus could answer, a flurry of owls entered, dropping letters, Prophets, and even some packages. One particularly large one was the object of several student's eyes, and it soon was lowered carefully into Regulus' hands. Rebecca smiled as Regulus realized what the package was, "Is this? No, it can't be - that's not become available, has it?" He looked at his fellow teammates, who seemed to be going through the same thing in their heads.

"Open it!" Rebecca encouraged. Regulus of course needed no more encouragement, ripping of the wrapping papers in a few fluid moments to reveal a brand-new Nimbus 1500. His eyes slid to Rebecca, who was sitting there innocently. "You did not," he began flatly, but she cut him off, "Read the card that's attached, silly!"

He looked wildly on the broom, and sure enough, attached to a large silver bow on the base of the broom was a festive-looking card. He snatched it off, opening it quickly. He read the note to himself which was written in neat cursive.

_To our dearest son,_

_Whilst we intended to gift this upon you for your birthday, we heard from a reliable source (who is no doubt within reach of you now) that this would be most useful for your next match against Gryffindor. We cannot tell you exactly how we've obtained this so early, but please know that your darling Rebecca was so very intricately involved in the obtainment and made sure that it would arrive to you before your game, but still late enough that it could surprise your opponents. I was so very impressed with her organizational skills that I daresay I underestimated her all these years, and she has become even more wonderful than she already was in our eyes. Please know that while this card is signed with love from your parents, there is someone else in the world who most definitely values you over her own life. We hope to see both of you at your match later, as we have cleared our schedules to attend. We are sure that this will be another win for the Slytherin team. In the meantime, please enjoy your present and send Rebecca and her sister our love._

_Tourjours pur,_

_Your Parents_

_Mr. and Mrs. Orion Black_

_The Most Nobel and Ancient House of Black_

Regulus turned slowly to Rebecca, who had a content look plastered on her face. "Happy birthday!" Rebecca saw that Regulus' eyes were lit up with extreme joy; it was quite possible that this was the most excited he had been since he found out that he and Rebecca would be prefects that year. His grin was practically from ear to ear, even though he was silent for a moment, simply admiring her, "I love you."

Rebecca's smile widened a bit, "I know." She then stood up to give him a peck, "Which is why I'm going go study while you and your mates go and play with your broom before the match." Rebecca looked around to the boys who had gathered to admire the broom and were having quiet conversation about it.

"My parents love you too. You've impressed my mother beyond belief - I think she might like you more than me." Rebecca shrugged, "It's a gift." She gave him one more kiss before hurrying him off.

After watching the large cohort of men exit. Rebecca was not surprised that nearly the entire Slytherin Quidditch team along with a few of Regulus' friends had followed him to see the pre-release broom in action. Rebecca turned to her sister, "I am good, aren't I?"

Laila rolled her eyes, "And very modest, of course."

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Another chapter done - sorry it took so long! Still waiting for those reviews.. I know you're out there! I liked writing this chapter.. But don't worry, some serious Sirius is coming in soon. Hopefully you enjoyed it as well! Thanks to Liza Lew, my darling beta who is taking time out of her own life to edit my chapters while she writes her own fanfic (wonderful wonderful wonderful! for those Dramione peoples.).


	6. Chapter 6: The Pitch

**The Locket**

**Flossey**

**Ch 6: The Pitch**

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Disclaimer: I do not own JKR's wonderful characters or world. I own my plot and my characters.

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Sirius was excited for the game, but his focus wasn't on it as usual. He didn't feel as motivated, as competitive, or the normal hatred of the opposing team. Sure, he wanted to win - but he couldn't merely focus on beating the stuffing out of the other team.

They had approximately thirty minutes until the game, and the Gryffindor Quidditch team was sitting in the stands, decked in their red and gold uniforms, watching the Slytherins fly around and practice. The majority of the team's attention was on their seeker, who was racing through the air on the current fastest, albeit unreleased, broom of the wizarding world, the Nimbus 1500. That seeker was Sirius' brother, who had prompted the soul-searching that Sirius was currently attending to.

While Regulus and Sirius were brothers, they had never been very friendly to each other; sometimes, they would track each other down to relay messages or threats. At their home, which Sirius had removed himself from last summer, they tended to ignore each other or make petty conversation. Occasionally, they would begin to fight, or have a bonding moment. But most of the time they were neutral.

So, when Sirius entered the pitch as per James' idea (he wanted to see just how fast that broom actually was, and the team needed to talk strategy as well), he was surprised that his brother flew over to him not to show off his broom, but to warn him that Rebecca was ridiculously upset at the fact that he was trying to get in good terms with Laila again and that their parents were coming to the match later. Not that he really cared about his parents, as they were easy to avoid, but he did care that he was going to have to start a war to get to Laila again.

It was not as if he had ever hurt Laila. Well, on purpose at least. And, they had never technically dated. But, there had always been the unwritten words. Near the end of last semester, with the blessing of his friends (Sirius still remembered James' exact comments, 'I suppose having a pet snake wouldn't be that bad'), Sirius had finally acted on that, forming a not-so-secret fling between them that was inherently undefined. Sirius had been afraid of actually dating; first of all, she was a Slytherin, and second of all, their parents might make them get married, as Regulus and Rebecca practically were. On top of that, Sirius wasn't that type of man, not quite yet - he was, in all definitions of the word, a heartthrob, and he knew it. He wasn't a complete mindless pig when it came to girls, but he had a way of breaking hearts that no one else seemed to.

While at first, Sirius was able to split Laila, the girl from Hogwarts from Laila, his family friend, the two started mixing uncomfortably for him over the summer - they began planning dates to social gatherings and they spent a disproportional amount of time talking rather than kissing. They became attached to each other, a fatal mistake for their relationship. Therefore, when Sirius left his family, Laila realized that meant he was leaving her, too. She cried and protested, obviously heartbroken, but Sirius had kept cool despite his doubts. As so many girls before her, Laila was left by Sirius, and she never saw him look back.

However, since he started back at Hogwarts for his 6th year, every girl had been different. Boring. Stupid. Obnoxious. Too loud. Too quiet. Sirius had fabricated every bad flaw he saw in these girls, going through at least one, maybe even two a week. His friends were amazed at how many girls he had gone through, a record for the legend, Sirius Black. But they weren't fun anymore - he missed the one he had before.

Sirius wasn't in love. He merely liked her - a big step for him. And, now that they were back at Hogwarts, and since every other girl decided to suck (in his opinion at least), he saw no reason not to act on his regrets and work to get her back. Sure, it wasn't an ideal situation, and she wasn't the most convenient girl, but she was interesting.

Sirius' concentration was interrupted by the hooting and hollering from his teammates around him. They were doing a Gryffindor chant - the one they always did before the game to try and psych out their competitors. The Slytherins obviously didn't care, though. They started a chant of their own, and soon it was like a cheer-off. When James gave him a questioning sideways glance, he began cheering as well. The Gryffindors continued their cheer even as they began to retreat to locker rooms to have their pre-game pep talk. The Slytherins moved to their locker room as well to do a similar routine, but instead of talking their team up, the Slytherins merely talked the opposing team down.

By the time that the stands had filled and the teams lined up for their grand entrance and roll call, Sirius had temporarily quelled his feelings, putting them to the back of his mind as he took his last deep breath before flying out onto the pitch. He pumped his fist as his name was called, appreciating the chorus of screaming teenage girls. As he scanned the pitch, he noticed that there was an obnoxiously large amount of support for Slytherin; instead of the normal 1/4 of the stands being Slytherin, nearly a third of the stand's fans were sporting green and silver.

He could see his parents in the crowd easily; they were rather unemotional except for their slightly pleased smiles, wearing plain black outer-robes - no signal of their affiliation with Slytherin was present. He noticed that Rebecca, who was standing next to his mother, looked uncharacteristically joyous for the circumstances. While Sirius knew that Rebecca enjoyed Quidditch games and often cheered, over the years he'd found that at all family gatherings, Rebecca tended to tone herself down to please Mrs. Black.

When Sirius heard Regulus' name called, he saw that Rebecca whooped a couple of times, throwing one hand in the air. As if by magic, Laila soon after appeared next to her sister. He noticed that she matched her sister, obviously supporting the Slytherin team. His attention was ripped away as he heard the announcer, a very comedic Hufflepuff, request that everyone take their positions. He flew lazily to the goal hoops, high-fiving James on his way there. He suspended himself in front of the middle of the three hoops, focusing on the action of the game. He could see his brother, vigilant and at-the-ready.

In a sudden flurry of red and green, the game started. Sirius paid the most attention to the Quaffle, a medium-sized red leather ball that was passed between six people; three from each team. The Chasers, as they were called, did their best to shoot the Quaffle through the opponent's three golden hoops. To do this, they had to get past the Keeper for each team, like Sirius. In the process, they also had to intercept each other's passes and avoid the Bludgers - small black iron balls, enchanted to attack the closest player to them. Four players, two from each team, were in charge of those blasted balls. These players, called Beaters, held wooden bats and hit the Bludgers away from their team, towards the opposing. Perhaps the key players of both teams were unaffected by the action on the field - they were the Seekers, who looked for a remarkably tiny, glittering golden ball with wings, the Golden Snitch. Their aim was to capture it, as capture would yield the seeker's team the equivalent of 15 goals and end the game immediately.

Seeking was Regulus' part on the Slytherin team and with his brand-new broom, he easily had the advantage over Gryffindor's seeker. He paid little attention to the game, idling in the air and scanning the skies for a hint of gold. His ears were searching for the tell-tale buzz that came from the Snitch's golden wings - the sound of a hummingbird, possibly. But, the Snitch was crafted by extremely intelligent magic and took on a personality of its own. It was fast and obviously enjoyed playing games, as it had just gleefully whizzed past Regulus' right ear.

He shot off after it, dodging players and balls. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the delayed red and gold flash of the Gryffindor seeker who most likely did not notice the Snitch until Regulus had gone after it.

Regulus shut the other seeker out of his mind, focusing on the tiny gold whizzing ball that was merely a few meters in front of him. He leaned into his broom, urging it to go faster, and it obliged. When he got within a meter of the snitch, however, it began some crazy whizzing patterns, ducking into the fans, trying to lose him. It went through a small crack in the stands and Regulus slowed down for a moment, searching for its likely exiting point. The Gryffindor seeker had passed him but stopped soon, hovering high above the stands. Regulus refused to stop, knowing that the snitch would have to surface soon.

Sirius' attention had been taken away from his duty when he heard the mass chaos of the fans as the snitch had whizzed through them, causing the seekers to zoom uncomfortably close above their heads. However, the attention was soon back on the main game as the snitch disappeared and Slytherin tried, unsuccessfully, to make a hoop. Sirius gave an almost indistinguishable head nod to James as he threw the Quaffle back to him, indicating that they should try their newest play.

Sirius watched as James threw his hand in the air, fist clenched around his thumb - the other player's play indication. They all nodded, getting into a backwards V formation, the ball with James on one of the sides of the V. As they began flying full-speed at the Slytherins, all available Slytherin players moving to crowd him. In Sirius' opinion, the most of the Slytherin players had no skill, technique, or brains really, so they merely used their brute strength and size to psyche out the other players and beat the balls from them. That's why he thought the play would work - it was designed to confuse them.

In the face of the onslaught of Slytherins, James flew straight down whilst the other players flew into a straight line above him. As soon as they reached this line above him, James threw the Quaffle as high as he could, straight up. As the Slytherins were preoccupied with nosediving to James, they barely noticed that he no longer had the Quaffle and that both chasers were moving to the goal hoops, gleefully passing the ball between them. However, in a second, that was over, as a well-placed bludger from Evan Rosier came flying from below, forcing the two to break their formation while the Quaffle was in mid-air, halfway between either of them. They both dived for it, but a Slytherin chaser had grabbed it too quickly and he flew right through them as if they were flies.

Sirius prepared himself, watching the chaser carefully. He squared his shoulders, ready to throw himself off his broom if he had to to prevent this goal - currently, they were tied at zero, despite the full twenty minutes of playing. Usually, both teams would have more points - what the Gryffindors had in skill, the Slytherins had in brutality, making them a rather even match. Sirius had a sick feeling that it would be a Seeker's game.

The ball was hurdled at the hoop left of Sirius and he dove for it, allowing it to hit him hard on the shoulder. It dropped and a Gryffindor chaser picked it up, continuing the back and forth game.

An hour into the game, the score was no longer zero but the teams were still tied. While Gryffindor had pulled ahead at first with forty points to nothing, in a remarkable feat of brain power, Rosier had rallied his team into a series of actual plays so that they had caught up. Sirius had a sneaking suspicion that Regulus had thought of these plays, as he had seen him speaking rather quickly to Rosier as he watched for the Snitch, which he had been playing a delightful game of cat and mouse with.

Sirius was annoyed at the Seeker, Nelson Skivet, on his own team. He was new this year. In practice he was brilliant, but it seemed that he was a bit psyched out by the older, bigger, and generally scarier Slytherin team. He had held his own against the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Seekers, eventually capturing the Snitch, but it didn't seem likely to happen today.

Regulus had noticed the same thing - the Gryffindor seeker seemed to be a remarkably incompetent opponent. He was actually following Regulus, or at least keeping him in his line of vision the whole time. That way, if Regulus saw the Snitch and made the move, he was bound to look like he had seen it himself a few times.

While Regulus was scanning the area, he saw a peculiar sight - it seemed that his mother, whose best compliment was usually silent approval, was indulging Rebecca in conversation. While his father was stoic as ever, his mother had a smile on her face - a genuine one that he had seen on her face no more than five times. Rebecca looked very joyous as well, obviously telling his parents a riveting story.

Regulus was so taken aback by this wonderful sight that he didn't even see the Snitch that had entered the other side of the pitch until the Gryffindor seeker had rushed off after it. Instantaneously he shot off, temporarily putting aside thoughts of his family.

Sirius saw Regulus' delayed reaction - it had been so delayed that he could've gone after the Snitch faster. But now both seekers were neck and neck, going after it. He saw that Nelson had just bumped Regulus, trying to knock him off his broom - a Slytherin move that the Gryffindors tried to avoid. He saw the angry glare of Regulus and knew at that moment that they had just lost their match.

While Regulus had the urge to give the Gryffindor seeker a hearty black eye, he focused his anger on catching the Snitch. Easily, he slid in front of the seeker. The snitch moved its hummingbird wings faster and began to dance in the air in front of him. He could hear the Slytherin section cheering him on, screaming with a new vigor than they had moments before.

Regulus felt his fingertips brush the wings and with a final lurch, he had it in his hands.

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Hello readers! Thank you for getting through that. It was a tough chapter to write, as Quidditch tends to be, but NOW IT'S OVER! Get ready for some Death Eater-y-ness next chapter.. Maybe a little Bellatrix for your liking? Lucius? You'll just have to wait and see.

So please, review! Thanks for those who did, and those who favourited. You're great!

Lastly, it is TRIVIA TIME. Show me your Harry Potter knowledge with this well-thought-out question: What is the spell to conjure the Dark Mark?


	7. Chapter 7: Family Affairs

**The Locket**

**Flossey**

**Chapter 7: Family Affairs**

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Disclaimer: Don't own it. Sad day. :(

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Regulus looked at the birthday card that sat on his dresser, opening it. Inside was his cousin's scrawled cursive, "Happy birthday, Regulus. Your present will be delivered to the Hogs Head at noon, a fortnight from Sunday." Of course, he was not getting a gift today. He had a meeting with an unrevealed Death Eater, possibly several.

"Yo Regulus, ready?" Regulus turned to the doorway where William was standing. He nodded silently, following him out to the common room. It was dimly lit as always, but bustling with activity as everyone prepared for their trip to Hogsmeade. He was surprised at the number of students awake, considering their house's late-night shenanigans to celebrate their win. Despite going to bed early into the event, Regulus could have sworn hearing Rebecca lead several more intoxicated chants of his name well into the night.

In the corner of the room, Regulus spied the very same girl, curled up in a large chair and sleeping over a cup of coffee. He smiled at the sight, and the smile grew broader as he saw her right herself quickly, as if shaken awake by an unknown force, then begin writing hurriedly. His attention was pulled away by the sudden arrival of Professor Slughorn, whose booming happy voice commanded silence.

"Oh-hoh children, just give me your permission slips, and you will be free to venture to Hogsmeade!" In groups of friends and couples, the Slytherins lined up, chatting excitedly. Regulus and William stood next to each other, but they allowed silence to fall between them, as they did not need anyone overhearing their business.

The silence didn't last however, as a loud group of boys led by Evan Rosier came behind them. "Sup Black?" Evan began, clapping Regulus on the back. Without allowing him to answer, Evan continued, "You should've stayed out with us last night. Things were crazy."

Regulus frowned, "I have commitments." Severn Wilkes, who was standing at Evan's side, chuckled a bit, "That girl of your's.." His statement was cut short as Regulus rolled his eyes, uninterested in whatever shenanigans Rebecca had gotten herself into. Instead of taking the bait, he merely asked, "Do we have practice later?"

Evan shook his head, "Thought I'd give the boys the day off. Smashing Hufflepuff will be a breeze." Wilkes laughed, "In fact, I think their strategy will be avoidance. Their captains skittered off quickly when Evan and I saw them at dinner last night."

Regulus shrugged, but William spoke up, "Did you see how those Ravenclaw girls were hanging around after the game?"

"They were so into us! I suppose they don't get enough man out of the Gryffindors." In a second, Regulus watched all three of the boys begin to hoot and holler about the Ravenclaw girls, as if they were a pack of dogs seeking meat. Regulus rolled his eyes and monitored the line, which was moving very slowly.

"Regulus, don't you wish you could get a piece of that?" Wilkes yelled jokingly. Regulus shrugged, "I've got my own girl." The three boys laughed, and Rosier commented this time, "It's like you two are already tied down! She owns you!" Evan lowered his voice, leaning in, "What if the Dark Lord doesn't allow that kind of relationship?" Regulus ignored his question, even though the interest had peaked. For a moment, there was silence between the boys, which William broke, "Well speak of the devil and she shall come!"

Sure enough, Rebecca had moved groggily across the common room and soon took a spot under Regulus' nose. She sipped her coffee, looking up at him with sad eyes. "I need help with my essay, Regulus." She put her forehead on his chest, leaning on him.

For the moment that he pulled her into his arms, Regulus thought about Evan's question. Who would he pick - the Dark Lord, who held his career in the balance, or his girlfriend, who held his heart? While either choice could be argued, there was no obvious answer to him. They held two different places in his future. In his mind, it was fine for him to fight for the good of the wizarding world during the day, then come home to his family at night. But honestly, did any Death Eater do this?

To his knowledge, no. Lucius had relations with his cousin, Narcissa, but she was a trusted outsider. Was Rebecca trusted? Could she be trusted? The answer, in his opinion, was yes. But to others? He had no idea. Another question came to his mind. Would she hold him back? Would she effect his work for the Dark Lord? He was unsure of it.

"Yo Reg, enough family time, we need to get going," William announced, pulling Regulus out of his fog. He saw that the line had left them behind and was now a pitiful excuse for a queue. "Don't go," Rebecca whispered. Regulus pulled her to arms length, "Rebecca. You are hungover. You will be better. Go to sleep, you'll work on the essay later." Rebecca frowned, "But I need your help."

"I need to go to my meeting. You knew this. Go to bed." Rebecca mocked him for a moment, and Regulus pulled away, "This is called responsibility, Rebecca. I'll be back later." Rebecca's mouth opened to protest, but he covered it with his own, giving her a kiss before moving to Professor Slughorn.

"Good day for Hogsmeade, isn't it boys?" Slughorn boomed, checking their permission slips, "Buying presents for your sweets?" He gave them both a broad smile, and they returned it. As he handed their slips back to them, he began telling them of his times at Hogwarts - but once they had the papers in their hands, they moved off quickly.

Rebecca watched them, leave, frowning. She turned on heel silently, but Slughorn had hurried himself over to her, "Not feeling well, Rebecca?" She shook her head, "Just a bit under the weather." Slughorn nodded, "Well if you need anything, my office is open! I'm not off to Hogsmeade today - I have those papers to grade. I forsee that your's will be excellent!"

Rebecca gave him a grim grin, "Thanks Professor." As they parted, Slughorn suddenly remembered something, "Oh yes, Professor McGonagall spoke to me about your work - she said it may be lacking! I'm sure you're capable of doing much better, Rebecca, so please work hard on this next essay! Say, why don't you ask Regulus for help? You two are quite cozy, aren't you?"

Rebecca gave him a faked broad smile, "Of course, Professor." He was satisfied and hurried off, unable to hear her final comment, "If he ever comes back." She rolled her eyes, moving to her dorm room to get some much needed rest.

Regulus and William had left the other two, walking briskly and silently towards Hogsmeade. "Harsh," William had commented at the beginning, "To Rebecca." Regulus rolled his eyes - apparently, nothing he did with her was right, "Whatever," was his flat response.

With a short five minutes, they were both outside the Hog's Head, a grungy pub frequented by older wizards and people who didn't want their business heard. They hurried in silently. William looked around and saw what he wasn't expecting. In a corner booth was a young woman with a gaunt face and wild hair, talking tight-lipped with a young man whose flowing blonde locks were tied back with a ribbon. They were in the inner circle of the Dark Lord's minions, some of his most trusted.

As the two boys moved as a unit, the two turned their attentions to them and stopped talking. The woman's mouth slid into an easy grin, "Cousin dearest!" she drawled. Regulus nodded his head, "Bella. Lucius." He slid into the booth across from Bellatrix Lestrange, his cousin who was a decade his senior. William sat across from Lucius Malfoy, who was marrying Bellatrix's sister. Regulus felt strangely like this was becoming a family affair.

"It's so nice to see you're serious about the family business," Bella joked, throwing her head back in a cackling laughter. She looked around for a moment afterwards, looking at Regulus straight in the eye, "But you didn't bring your little girlfriend out to play?"

Regulus showed no reaction, "She's studying." He had no idea what Bella wanted to "play" with Rebecca, but he did not want to know. Bella had always hated Rebecca, for some reason, and last Christmas they'd gotten into a screaming match over the lamb.

Lucius looked at Regulus disdainfully, "What a good student, I suppose. Now, to the details. You know your induction date, correct?"

Regulus nodded, "Correct." Bella took over the interrogation-style situation, "And you will not know further details of that. The time and location will stay undisclosed. Fellow Death Eaters are invited, and your parents do not wish to attend. Narcissa will be present as a family witness."

Regulus nodded, "And Rebecca?" Bella giggled, "Is not a priority." Regulus stayed silent. Bella grinned, "Regulus, we must test the girl - to see her loyalty to us before your attachment is allowed."

Regulus shook his head, "She is loyal, she will not betray me." Lucius shrugged, "Things happen, Regulus. Some women cannot be trusted. Just - feed her a lie for us. And we'll test her."

"Test her?" Regulus questioned. Bella's shrill laughter came again, "Just wait for the signal - and do what is asked of you." Regulus nodded solemnly.

Bellatrix smashed her fist on the table, "We'll drink to it!" she raised her hand towards the barkeeper, "A round of firewhiskey!"

The older, bearded man waved his wand in the air lazily and instantly, four dingy shot glasses flew to the table, full of a wicked brew that burned as it went down, but gave the drinker a hearty boost of courage. Regulus hated the stuff.

He pushed his away, shaking his head, "I don't partake in that - I'm a prefect." Lucius laughed, "Has that ever stopped a Hogwarts student?" William nudged him, as if to warn him that he should drink it.

"Come on, Reggie, you're not a baby anymore! Drink up!" Regretful, Regulus grabbed the glass and threw the drink down his throat, followed soon after by the other three. The strange wizard concoction burned their throats, but soon enough a feeling of empowerment and strength overtook them. Regulus, usually tight-lipped about his affairs, was soon boasting about his exceptional marks in school and his accomplishment on the Quidditch field. In turn, Bella and Lucius began telling him vague stories of great dealings they had carried out for the Dark Lord. William bragged of women, but Regulus called his bluffs.

Early in the morning of December 20th, Rebecca was asleep in the darkness of Regulus' room.

"Rebecca," came the whisper out of the darkness. Someone tapped her, and she giggled in response, "I'm tired, Regulus."

Again, the whisper, "Rebecca, wake up." This time, someone shook her. She turned over, throwing her arm over where Regulus should have been. "Regulus?" she whispered back, feeling around the bed. Nothing.

Before a scream could escape her mouth, she was stupefied. Regulus watched silently as his girlfriend was kidnapped. He stood, holding Bellatrix's arm and apparating to an unknown location, not an emotion on his face.

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A/N: Sorry for lack of updates, I had a bit of a writer's block.. Hope y'all enjoy this and are ready for the next, which is already halfway finished! Thanks to the beta for getting me to write.. She's awesome!

The answer to my last fanquestion was.. MORSMORDRE! I wonder when Regulus will use that spell..

Anyways, next one.. After the First Wizarding War, how did Lucius Malfoy ferret his way out of his legal charges? (Yes, despite the flowing, beautiful blonde hair, Lucius is also a ferret.)

So, that's all folks, and please review!


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